Day 11

Last night was a great night in the forest. The air was cool and crisp and the moonlight cast beautiful shadows through the pine trees that surrounded Clarendon Shelter.

We were up and eating breakfast before 7 am. We knew we had a big day in front of us. The hike up to Cooper Lodge was 9.9 miles and climbed over 2,900 feet. As soon as we were on the trail it climbed several hundred feet to Beacon Hill, which appeared to be named for the small tower with a blinking light on it. I assumed this was due to the nearby airport.

The trail gradually relinquished the elevation we had gained. We passed through some fields, using wooden stairs to climb over barbed wire fences. Eventually we came to a road. A sign explained that Hurricane Irene had washed out some bridges, meaning we would need to walk several miles on country roads. Although it added .4 to our day's hike, the road walk was pleasant. It was Sunday afternoon and it looked like people were out enjoying it. The sun was shining brightly and the breezes kept us reasonably cool. As we climbed up Cold River Road we began to gain a view of the mountains in the distance.

The road walk finally ended at a trail entrance into the woods. Just below here was a large bridge and a portion of road that had both been washed away in the Hurricane last year.

The trail climbed quickly up to the Governor Clement Shelter. We stopped for lunch and geared up for the big climb up Killington. We had spent the past day dreading this big climb, and it actually wasn't that bad. We both found it to be an easier climb than Stratton. The trail snaked its way up a series of ridges. In many spots there was barely enough room for our feet to fit on the ledge, but the trail climbed gradually in most places.

Around 3 pm we arrived at the Cooper Lodge. We set up our tent quickly and emptied our packs of everything heavy that we wouldn't need right away. The gondola from the summit was scheduled to run until 5, meaning we might be able to take a ride down and back.

The climb to the summit was only 2 tenths of a mile, but it was really tough. In most places we had to use both hands to climb over the jagged rock ledges. About halfway up we began to get a view, and it was spectacular. The mountains extended in all directions, bathed in a blue haze.

We hurried across the summit to the ski lift and confirmed with the employee that it ran until 5. We didn't want to get stranded at the base of the mountain. The gondola was also free to hikers!

The ride down provided beautiful views of the mountains. We definitely might come here to ski sometime. At the bottom we visited the snack bar. The kitchen was closed but the bartender was able to sell us some fruit kabobs, potato chips, and candy bars. I also had a piña colada, which was really refreshing after a long day on the trail.

We rode the gondola back up and laid out on the rocks for a while enjoying the view. Today was a hard day, but we had some pretty great rewards for it. Our bodies are both tired. The accumulated bumps and bruises of hiking 100 miles have taken their toll on both our bodies and psyches. We are really looking forward to getting to the Inn at the Long Trail and getting some relaxation in tomorrow night!

Day 10

We ended up setting the tent up in the shelter last night to escape the mosquitos that showed up at twilight. We were both exhausted and fell asleep quickly.

In the morning some light showers passed through while we were enjoying our oatmeal and coffee. We put the pack covers on and trudged off down the trail. The rain showers were short lived, but a lasting humidity hung in the air all day.

The first hour saw us descend through some giant pine trees and across a couple of roads. We rock-hopped Bully Brooke, which was a pretty, fast moving stream. After our second road crossing the trail began to climb towards Bear Mountain. It was probably for the best that we hadn't put much thought into this climb ahead of time. It was a rough one. The trail switched backed up about a thousand feet, climbing relentlessly. By the time reached the summit we were both soaked in sweat. As one through-hiker who passed us put it, "I'm not sure if I'm sweating or if the humidity is just condensing on my skin".

We stopped for a snack break at the summit. This seemed to boost our energy level for a while. The downhill went quickly, and we were at the Minerva Hinchey Shelter at noon. We stopped to take a lengthy break before the rugged descent down Clarendon Gorge and to the road. We were both looking forward to the lunch stop at the Whistle Stop Cafe. Sitting in the shelter I noticed a sign on the wall advertising the cafe. The sign said that it closed at 2:30. We were going to have a hard time making it by then. Panicked, we threw our packs back on and began hiking as quickly as we could.

The trail, of course, did not want to cooperate with our urgency. It climbed steeply for a while before finally starting to descend. This decent was really tough. Instead of using switchbacks, it just dropped straight over each ledge. The trail surface was mostly comprised of rocks: large, smooth, wet, and incredibly slippery rocks. At one point I slipped on one of these rocks and did my best Scooby Doo impression, slipping and sliding in a variety of directions. By some small miracle I caught hold of a tree and avoided careening down the hill out of control.

Eventually, the painful descent ended at a hanging bridge across the gorge. The gorge itself was impressive. The water was a torrent of rapids, falling over large rocks. The canyon walls were towering rocks, carved into strange smooth shapes by the passing of water over countless years.

After stopping to appreciate the gorge we hurried out onto the road and began the half mile walk to the Whistle Stop Cafe. We got their at 1:45. They were still open!

I ordered a root bear, eggs, potatoes and toast with a side order of French toast and ate ALL of it. I even helped Mary finish her basket of French fries. It's amazing how much of an appetite hiking can give you. We made a couple of phone calls home and chatted with some through-hikers in the cafe before heading back out.

The trail up to Clarendon Shelter was only 1 mile. We planned to go slowly, as we were both stuffed from our lunch feast. The trail made sure that we would. It climbed rapidly, almost straight up over a series of boulders piled up. There was quite a bit of using our hands and feet to climb.

We arrived at the shelter around 4. This one is a nice shelter. There are even some potted flowers someone has maintained here, and the nearby stream is audible in the shelter. I feel a bit like I'm camping in someone's backyard! We had time to wash off in the stream and are now relaxing before the big climb up Killington tomorrow.

Today was a shorter day, but a tough one. I think we're both starting to question whether or not we can finish the full hike or if stopping sooner would be better. We'll see how the big climb tomorrow goes and go from there!

Day 9

Last night was a beautiful night for sleeping. The temps fell into the 50's and the steady gurgle of the stream below the shelter lulled us into a rest-full sleep. This was a good thing, because we would need our rest for the coming day.

The coming day ended up being a very long day of hiking. The initial plan was to go 9.6 miles to the Little Rock Pond Shelter. The terrain was supposed to be quite a bit easier. After looking at the way the next couple of days laid out, we decided to bite off a bigger day today to set us up for a shorter one tomorrow. We figured this would help us to climb Killington the next day. The Greenwall Shelter was the next shelter on the map, at 14.5 miles.

A big part of this plan was contingent on making great time through the "easier" terrain. We did not get off to a great start. Less than a half-mile out of camp we encountered a stretch of boardwalks that were no longer functional. It looked like something had taken the supports that hold the planks together, leaving floating boards in dark, murky water of an unknown depth. Mary proceeded cautiously, hoping to balance on the floating boards well enough to reach the other side reasonably dry. This attempt would not prove successful. She reached a point where the board was teetering in either direction. Suddenly the board flipped, and Mary was tossed into the water. The good news was that the water turned out to be only 18 inches deep. The bad news was that she would need to hike in soaked boots and socks the rest of the day. Having witnessed her mishap, I elected to bushwhack a path around the flooded portion of trail. I was able to join Mary on the other side with only partly soggy shoes.

We continued on, eager to put big miles behind us. The trail climbed gradually at first, as we approached Baker Peak. The last half mile or so, however, provided our first chance for a hands on scramble over rocks. The big, jagged slabs of rock were tilted at a 45 degree angle, making for precarious foot and hand placement. Gradually, views to the West and South began to emerge. Upon reaching the top we stopped for a snack break. We were both already tired and we had only hiked 2.3 miles.

After our snack break the trail dropped rapidly but gently all the way to the Lost Pond Shelter. This allowed us to make up some lost time. We stopped for lunch and a bottle of filtered water from the stream below the shelter. While resting we met an AT hiker headed southbound. He was only the second southbounder we have seen.

After lunch the trail was easier for a while. It followed an impressive whitewater stream for a time, eventually crossing it on a wooden suspension bridge. Soon the trail joined forest road 10. We passed a parking area and a trail head where the trail went back up into the forest. The parking area was full of cars. As we followed the white blazes back into the forest, we passed elderly couples and families with dogs in tow. This reminded us that it was Friday. We can tell we've been at this a while when we forget what day of the week it is.

We finally arrived at the Little Rock Pond Shelter a little after 3. The pond was beautiful. The far shore was lined by several ridges of trees and rocks, creating the appearance that the pond itself was set into a deep bowl. The section hikers from last night were there, along with a family with a happy black dog swimming in the pond and a GMC caretaker. We chatted with the caretaker while drinking some water and eating a snack. He informed us that the Greenwall Shelter should have water and that it was recently rebuilt. Although we were tired, we decided to go for it.

The trail followed the lake to the far end before it started climbing. We were excited to be pushing on for big miles for a while so we made great time at first. In fact, we had made most of the 800 foot climb before we took our first break. After passing the highest point near White Rocks Mountain the trail began to descend again. We passed the strangest collection of rock cairns all made of the chalky white rock throughout this area. We wondered what the significance of these cairns was as we pushed on.

In a little while we passed a couple of backpackers going the other direction. They informed us that there was no water at the Greenwall Shelter. Our hearts both sank with this news. The next stream was .8 miles past the shelter, meaning one of us would have to hike 1.6 miles to fetch water to our camp. Not exactly what we wanted to do after a 14.5 mile day.

The forest became quite unusual through here. The trees were very tall jack pine that had lost most of their needles. A younger generation of baby pine trees was growing low to the ground, and the forest floor was entirely covered in needles. This had the effect of creating kind of a 2 color scene, one that was very different from the forest we had hiked in so far. Knowing that we were having a bit of a water crisis made this terrain seem even more alien.

In a little while we found a puddle of water on the trail. It wasn't much, but it was water. We stopped and filtered 6 liters of water, enough for tonight and tomorrow morning. I don't think I've ever been happier to see a mud puddle!

A little after 7 we finally reached the shelter. A family of 4 from Ohio was finishing up their dinner when we arrived. We are both exhausted but happy to be here. We've now hiked 79 miles on the Long Trail, with 193.7 to go. Tomorrow will be shorter day, and we should be able to get lunch at the Whistle Stop Cafe that the trail passes near. We are both excited for tomorrow!

Day 8

We were up at 6 am today so we could walk to the laundromat and be ready when it opened at 7. We threw our disgusting trail clothes in a washer and walked next door for some breakfast. After some egg and cheese sandwiches and a fruit smoothy we retrieved our laundry and walked back up to the inn.

We packed our packs, changed into our no longer funky trail clothes and called a local taxi for a ride out to the trail.

A little after 9:30 we were hiking again. It was a bit weird to return to the trailhead we had left two days earlier. When we were last here we were celebrating a successful first leg of the trip and looking forward to the comforts of town. Now we were settling in for another long haul through the woods. We were both curious to see how it would feel to return to the trail. So far, this had not been so different from our previous hiking trips. Today was when it deviated from the realm of the known. We didn't know how are bodies would respond to being back on the trail or how the psychology of hiking would play out.

After less than two hours of hiking we had our answer. The trail climbed over a thousand feet in the first three miles to the summit of Bromley Mountain. This was the type of climb that had left us winded and exhausted on the last leg of our trip. As we broke out into the meadows near the summit of the mountain we both were surprised at how easy the climb had been and how quickly it had gone by. Our packs were clearly lighter than before, but it seems our conditioning has improved considerably. We can only hope this continues as we hike north.

We relaxed at one of the Bromley Mountain ski lifts while we enjoyed our new and improved snacks. We picked up energy bars, cheese, salted nuts, dried fruit, tortillas and a container of crunchy peanut butter in town. I'm hoping the increased calories will help us handle the big miles ahead. It's nice to look forward to a tasty snack on a long hiking day!

The rest of the day past uneventfully. The trail dropped rapidly down to Mad Tom Notch where a hand pump provided cold drinking water. The trail then climbed through a dark forest over wet rocks, roots and boardwalks up to Styles Peak and then over Peru Peak. We both noticed that the trail was as quiet as we could ever remember. The birds and squirrels weren't putting on their usual song and dance. The skies had also turned a depressing shade of gray. After hiking in silence for far too long we took to singing songs and telling jokes to pass the time.

At about 4 pm we reached the Peru Peak Shelter. Section hikers from the last shelter were already set up in the shelter. After many hours of almost creepy silence we were excited to have some company in camp.

Dinner tonight was a dehydrated red beans and rice meal. We added some fresh garlic and a fresh chopped jalapeño pepper. This was our most successful dinner on the trail so far.

Now we are enjoying good company and a campfire at the shelter. It's good to be back on the trail.

We've hiked 64.5 miles on the Long Trail and have 208.2 to go.

Day 7

Today was a wonderful day of relaxing. In the words of through-hiker The Dude "the 4th isn't a zero, it's a holiday. I don't hike on the 4th". While I don't share The Dude's same zeal for the 4th of July, the people of Manchester, Vermont sure seem to. I was happy to partake in the festivities.

We slept in until 9 am this morning, enjoying the comforts of a bed and a pillow. After I enjoyed another really long shower, Mary and I walked downtown for breakfast at Up for Breakfast. Recommended by all of the locals, Up for Breakfast is a cute restaurant that specializes in unique breakfast entrees. It's a small place with only a hand full of tables, situated up stairs in a main street building. We enjoyed a really tasty version of vegetarian eggs Benedict, sourdough blueberry pancakes with Vermont maple syrup, and lots of coffee.

After finishing our breakfast feast we walked back to the inn to get our dirty laundry. Some AT hikers who had arrived at the inn today told us that the laundromat was closed for the 4th of July. Sadly, this means we will need to get up early in the morning and wash our dirty clothes before hitting the trail.

We spent the afternoon relaxing at the Northshire Bookstore, enjoying the air conditioning. We wrote postcards and made phone calls home while I enjoyed my first frozen mocha in a week.

By mid-afternoon the temperature had reached the high 80's. The air was humid and heavy. It was painful just to walk around. We decided to walk the mile out of town to the community pool. It was free day at the pool! The pool was crowded, but the water was refreshing on such a hot day.

After some pizza for dinner we walked to the fairgrounds for the fireworks. There was live music going on and it appeared that everyone in the town was here. After 36 hours in town I felt like I was beginning to recognize faces. It was a surreal experience to celebrate the 4th of July in a strange town. Watching children run around with sprinklers and old folks jokeying for the best position to view the show I felt a bit like I had wandered into a Norman Rockwell painting. A little after 9 the skies began to grow dark and bright flashes of lightning cut through the sky. It was amusing to see how long people denied the obvious and held out hope for the fireworks show. Eventually the storm tore loose and everyone ran for cover. We watched the storm from the porch of the B and B. It looks like nature will provide the only fireworks show tonight!

Tomorrow we get back on the trail. Manchester Center was a neat town to check out, but we'll be happy to get moving again.

Day 6

So far we are really lucking out with the weather. Another rainstorm blew through the mountains during the night, the drops plunking loudly on the shelter while we slept. By sunrise, however, we were greeted by blue skies again.

Everyone in the shelter was up early so we were on the trail by 7:30 am. The morning was cool, the trail mostly level, and the lure of a town day strong causing us to make great time. We played leap-frog with a group of section hikers for most of the morning. This group was comprised of three gentleman in their 60's who are working to hike the entire Appalachian Trail over many years. They were an entertaining group to chat with. One man was a retired teacher who served in the army in Vietnam. He had spent time in the Midwest, including Detroit, so we were able to swap stories. It was comforting to talk to someone who knew something of our home state.

The trail eventually joined Rootville Road, a dirt road that runs into Manchester Center. We made really great time on this stretch of flat, level terrain. After about 3 hours of hiking we reached a side trail to Prospect Rock. We took our lunch from this scenic spot, perched on a slap of rock that jutted out several hundred feet above the valley below. Manchester Center was visible below, tantalizingly close. AT through hiker Hawkeye was enjoying his lunch here as well. His teenage son had joined him for a couple of days on the trail. They had spent the previous day fishing and relaxing at Stratton Pond. Hawkeye had spent much of his life in this part of Vermont and was able to provide us with some advanced scouting on Manchester Center.

After finishing the last of our food we retraced our steps to the trail and began the last 5 mile push to the road. In classic trail fashion, the hiking turned harder, switchbacking up and down several ridges. The sounds of town were clearly audible through the forest as we hiked. The horn on a train blew, a siren sounded at noon, and the rush of traffic zoomed by on the road below.

One of the most maddening experiences in all travel is the "almost there" phenomenon. That lasts .5 can go by painfully slowly, so much so that Mary has forbidden me to say. "almost there" while hiking. Eventually, the trail did finish snaking through the woods and emptied onto a busy highway.

Manchester Center was 5 miles to the West, meaning this would be our first experience hitching a ride into town. We decided our best strategy was to have Mary stand near the road with her thumb in the air while I hung back with the packs. It seemed like people would be more likely to give a ride to a women than a man, especially one in filthy clothes and 6 days of stubble! Our plan worked, as the fourth vehicle that went by pulled over. It was the perfect choice for our first hitch: a teenage girl on her way home from working as a lifeguard at the Bromley Ski Resort swimming pool. She seemed like a pretty safe bet. We climbed into her Suburban, with plenty of room for us and our packs. It was fun to marvel at how fast the miles zoomed by after traveling the last 60 under our own power. She gave us a brief tour of town before dropping us at Sutton's Place.

Sutton's Place is a B and B that caters to hikers. He offers a hiker discount, and the location is ideal. Set about one block up a lazy side street from downtown, it is within walking distance to all of the services we will need. The proprietor, Frank, gave us a run down of the best places to visit while in town. He also gave us a beautiful room with a window air conditioning unit and a private bathroom. Although, to be fair, just about any room would have looked good after 6 days in the woods.

We changed into our cleanest clothes, sorted through our packs and made a plan for while we were in town. We had decided during one of the long climbs that we needed to part with some weight if we were going to be able to keep hiking. We decided to mail home some items we didn't need: the hammock, an extra Nalgene water bottle and the Jet Boil, along with a few small items. We could do all of our cooking with the MSR stove we had brought and the lightweight pot. We walked part of the way to the post office before passing a great smelling small town doughnut joint. Mary graciously offered to walk the rest of the way to the post office while I satisfied my doughnut craving. Mrs. Murphy's Doughnuts had the kind of small town, greasy doughnuts you just can't find anymore. After indulging in a couple of fantastic doughnuts and a large iced tea, I walked down the street and met Mary at Ben and Jerry's for our second treat of the day. It's amazing how good ice cream can taste on a hot day after 6 days of trail food!

Our immediate needs satisfied, we visited the Price Chopper, the whole foods store and the Eastern Mountain Sports for groceries and supplies. After being hungry on the trail for five most of the week we loaded up on high energy foods: nuts, dried fruit, and energy bars. We also bought a clove of garlic to add to our dinners. We learned from through-hiker Spock that this is an easy way to make a dehydrated meal more appetizing, and it helps keep away the bugs. While we were outside the Price Chopper we ran into some section hikers we had met previously on the trail. They are planning to get to Katahdin this year. They are also hiking with a beautiful and adventurous dog named Captain. We watched Captain for them while they did their shopping.

After stashing our purchases in the room we went in search of dinner. We ended up eating at the Firefly. We had outside seating with a great view of the mountains we had been in earlier today. Chips with fresh salsa, guacamole, a veggie burger with Vermont Cheddar and a Switchback Ale really hit the spot. Watching the sun set behind the mountains we both had a great sense of accomplishment. We had walked here from Massachusetts! We've hiked 60 miles already, with 56 of it on the Long Trail. We have 217 miles to go. Tomorrow we are going to take a "zero" in town and see if we can find some fireworks for the holiday. We'll be back on the trail Thursday as we head for Killington and Sherburne Pass.

Day 5

Last night some pretty big storms rolled through in the middle of the night. My sleeping position in the Story Spring Shelter had my head at the edge of the platform, with only inches of awning above me. A bright white flash of lightning cut through the sky at one point, waking most of us in the shelter up. Heavy rains followed, but fortunately the winds were not too severe, and we stayed dry under the covering.

By the time morning came we were greeted by clear, blue skies. The evening's rainstorms would continue to drip from the trees for a few hours, but the skies would stay dry all day for us. Our hike took us through some fairly level terrain for the first couple of hours. We crossed a couple of roads and a picturesque stream along the way. We stopped for a long break at Kelly Stand Road to prepare for our long climb.

The trail up to Mount Stratton was our first really big climb of the hike. The trail climbed over 1700 feet in about 3 miles, topping out at an elevation of a little below 4000 feet. The trail climbed at a moderate, but relentless clip. Gradually the forest changed over to all pine, and the air became cooler as we climbed. More than a few breaks were necessary along the way. I think we both probably could have rung the sweat out of our clothes by the time we were halfway up the mountain.

At just the point when I was beginning to wonder if I could possibly keep putting one foot in front of the other we broke out into a clearing. The summit was ringed by dense pine trees blocking the view, but there was another fire tower open to hikers. This tower was 55 feet tall. As I climbed the little wooden steps the winds began to howl. It was a real white knuckle experience, but the view was worth it! We could see Stratton Pond, our destination for the night, and mountains ringed us in all directions. The sky was a thick blanket of puffy, grey and white clouds, drifting quickly over the summit. It threatened of rain that would never materialize.

After snapping a few pictures with the battery life I had left on my phone and eating our nutella wraps (still delicious on day 5) we started the long descent down the mountain. The trail dropped quickly, but not so rapidly as to kill our knees, like the descent to route 9 did.

Around 3 we reached the Stratton Pond shelter. The shelter itself was situated a ways up the hill from the pond. This shelter looked fairly new and had wooden bunks on two levels with room for 16.

After setting up our camp stuff and filtering water we eagerly ran down to Stratton Pond for a swim. Other hikers said the water was cold. They had obviously never been to Lake Superior! We picked our way over the rocks on the shore until the water was deep enough to dive in. The water was cool and refreshing. It felt great to wash off some of the dirt and sweat from hiking 43.8 miles. Being away from water this long was hard for a couple of Michigan kids.

We spent the rest of the night cooking dinner and chatting with the group in the shelter. A group of section hikers from Pennsylvania shared their chocolate with us. They are planning a trip to Isle Royale National Park, so we were able to share our knowledge with them.

Our hike is going well so far. We have 229.2 miles left and tomorrow is a town day. We are already excited for a hot shower and warm food!